Dani ragazza
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Hi
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Flight school Help
- Thread starter Dani ragazza
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You might want to look into ATP. Lots of locations, housing and financial assistance. Hotter than hell in summer, but Arizona is where I’d go.
James331
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Find a nice small Pt61 school, or better a good flying club with some older CFIs, ideally in middle of nowhere Texas or NM or the like, bonus points if you build time in gliders, find a room for rent on Craigslist and there ya go.
I’d be careful with debt, but there are options if you really want to go that route, ranging from credit cards to some companies that specialize in loaning money for flight training.
I’d be careful with debt, but there are options if you really want to go that route, ranging from credit cards to some companies that specialize in loaning money for flight training.
Dani ragazza
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ATP is also on my radar. They also operate on Long Island. So even tho the weather in AZ would be better for training i couldn’t justify the cost of housing when I can commute to the location here in Islip NY.
Thanks James. I wouldn’t even know where to begin since I’m completely green to this industry i don’t have pilot friends or any kind of network to know who is reputable.
James331
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No worries, for the glider side, there is a good website for that
https://www.ssa.org/WhereToFlyMap.asp
Flying club wise, think @jesse on here is a member of a good economical flying club, I'm sure some other members have some pointers too.
Ofcourse I presume you know about cragislist housing?
https://lincoln.craigslist.org/sear...ce=700&availabilityMode=0&sale_date=all+dates
You will save a good deal doing all your training anywhere but NYC lol
I mean cost of living, taxes, rent, etc
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Dani ragazza
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Yes im familiar with housing on Craigslist. I’m a poor broke girl and realize this is a huge financial step and risk. Not sure if private housing is more economical then a school that offers housing (if such a thing exists for US students)
James, can you tell me the benefits of flight clubs? Yes NY metro area is costly. Which is why I was looking at student loans to finance it.
No same weather.
James331
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For flight training your big cost is the hourly rate for the plane and CFI, most of the clubs these rates will be lower than a school especially a crappy big box school like ATP Inc, also youll probably have better instructors who have more experience and CFI because they want to, not just to build hours like the self licking icecream cone of ATP Inc, where someone who was a PPL 4 months ago is now your CFI, up till he hits mins to get a job at a regional airline.
Plus if youre broke you really shouldnt be living in the that city!
Check this out,
https://www.aopa.org/CAPComm/flyingclubs/flyingclubfinder/states.cfm
Click around, look up bios on the CFIs (a BIG factor in your success in flight training is a GOOD instructor), when it comes to CFIs its like getting a high end tattoo, the shop is a factor, but the individual artist is the largest factor in the outcome.
With the planes, dont get sold on fancy crap or pretty paint, they should all be to FAA spec, as long as they have a few planes in the fleet so you can still be flying even if one is down for maintenance, just find the cheapest one, you might even learn more in a less fancy plane too.
Go compare plane and CFI hourly rates, get on cragislist and look at rental prices, go from there.
Id think with a part time job and going to Nebraska, Texas, New mexico, or somewhere like that for training, that would put you WAY ahead in how quickly you can get your CPL as well as having less debt when youre done.
Plus if youre not down to travel, a career in aviation is going to be a uphill battle
alfadog
Final Approach
I think that if you have your friends and your support network on LI and can commute to FRG from home then that outweighs going somewhere else and paying a bit less for airplane and CFI. My $0.02.
It might help to know a little more about your situation. Are you gainfully employed on Long Island? Are you looking for a career in aviation eventually? Do you have any hours yet? (I'm going to assume you're just starting out and not yet PPL-ed, so if this is wrong, let us know...)
You say that learning to fly is a big "financial risk". It seems to me that travelling somewhere (that is not your home, where you have to rent housing, etc.) for training just makes the whole endeavor financially riskier. Because if your goal is get done in XX number of weeks, then you have to have the cash all up front, likely financed, and the pressure to finish in that time becomes intense, because otherwise the money spent will seem wasted*. On the other hand, if you stay close to home, you can train at whatever pace suits you. That can including to take a break from it to build a reserve of cash, whenever necessary. I would avoid using financing if possible, as the ability to pay it back later is not assured. Travelling somewhere else *just* for training has always seems to me like the kind of thing to do if you've already got cash, enough to be comfortably unemployed for a while. My $0.02.
I trained in the Boston area in 2004. Personally, I found that training in an urban environment has reaped rewards ever since, in terms of being comfortable in complex airspaces and talking to myriad controllers. In fact, I took a few trips to Long Island back in the day after getting my PPL... I remember coming in for a landing at ISP once, and there was a big ol' Southwest Airlines jet at the hold short line, and the Tower told him to hold short because there was someone on final... me! A big jet full of a hundred people, was sitting there waiting for little ol' me, alone in my 152! I thought "the captain will be watching my landing... maybe getting nostalgic?" It was super-cool, and I always get a kick out of that feeling.
Yes, the Northeast weather can be sucky for what seems like long stretches... In fact, on that same awesome trip to ISP, I got stranded there for four days because of rain that wouldn't stop. But such things were learning experiences too. For reference, I was gainfully employed in Boston at the time, and it took me about 9 months flying once or twice a week, to get my PPL.
* Time training is never really wasted. But if it "feels" that way at the time, it can be frustrating, especially if cost is an issue.
You say that learning to fly is a big "financial risk". It seems to me that travelling somewhere (that is not your home, where you have to rent housing, etc.) for training just makes the whole endeavor financially riskier. Because if your goal is get done in XX number of weeks, then you have to have the cash all up front, likely financed, and the pressure to finish in that time becomes intense, because otherwise the money spent will seem wasted*. On the other hand, if you stay close to home, you can train at whatever pace suits you. That can including to take a break from it to build a reserve of cash, whenever necessary. I would avoid using financing if possible, as the ability to pay it back later is not assured. Travelling somewhere else *just* for training has always seems to me like the kind of thing to do if you've already got cash, enough to be comfortably unemployed for a while. My $0.02.
I trained in the Boston area in 2004. Personally, I found that training in an urban environment has reaped rewards ever since, in terms of being comfortable in complex airspaces and talking to myriad controllers. In fact, I took a few trips to Long Island back in the day after getting my PPL... I remember coming in for a landing at ISP once, and there was a big ol' Southwest Airlines jet at the hold short line, and the Tower told him to hold short because there was someone on final... me! A big jet full of a hundred people, was sitting there waiting for little ol' me, alone in my 152! I thought "the captain will be watching my landing... maybe getting nostalgic?" It was super-cool, and I always get a kick out of that feeling.
Yes, the Northeast weather can be sucky for what seems like long stretches... In fact, on that same awesome trip to ISP, I got stranded there for four days because of rain that wouldn't stop. But such things were learning experiences too. For reference, I was gainfully employed in Boston at the time, and it took me about 9 months flying once or twice a week, to get my PPL.
* Time training is never really wasted. But if it "feels" that way at the time, it can be frustrating, especially if cost is an issue.
Dani ragazza
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Yes gainfully employeed here. However I’m just out of college and my salary is entry level. It would take me 30 yrs to pay for training. So financing is my only option. My plan is to pay for my private out of pocket while working and training part time. Then once I complete my private if I’m still seeing this as a real thing then going for it full steam on a full time basis with a career path in mind. Financing with a flight school that offers student loan options. Living in debt the rest of my life and not giving a **** cause flying makes me feel alive. Lol.
Generally, you can rent an aircraft for training purposes at a lower hourly rate than a flight school because they are non-profit, and the planes are essentially member owned. You will have to pay a fee to join, or maybe you can buy a share from someone looking to sell. The aircraft tend to be better maintained, in that cosmetic issues are addressed that flight school would not necessarily address. Ideally, whether you go to a flight school or a club, the aircraft will be maintained to a "airworthy" standard, as required by law. Some outfits may cut corners. So, there can be outliers in which safety is an issue. But, assuming you are comparing two safe options, the flight club will likely be cheaper for the same demographic area and similar aircraft, with less restrictions on over night rentals.
You can also use member flight instructors at a rate you negotiate directly with them. Because the instructor takes all of your check, there is no flight school to pay, and therefore you can generally pay less per hour for instruction. A private certificate obtained from the FAA after getting instruction from a member instructor is just as good as a private certificate you got from the FAA after paying a flight school a bunch of cash.
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